Douglas J. Fisher, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, offered a poignant reflection on the 4th of July in a recent piece he wrote for telegram.com.

Bishop Fisher writes,

"William Sloan Coffin, the chaplain at Yale University for many years, once said: 'There are three kinds of patriots. Two bad and one good. The bad ones are the uncritical lovers and the loveless critics. The good patriots carry on a lover’s quarrel with their country, a reflection of God’s lover’s quarrel with the world.'

We love our country. We are blessed and a blessing, and, in many ways, a beacon to the world. May we be good patriots and carry on a lover’s quarrel with America until we mend what has been torn apart. This is a day for pride and celebration. It is also a day to pray that we might live up to the great ideals on which we were founded."